2011 Time Warp

Can we just rewind 7 days and pretend that I started my New Year’s goals on time?

I’m kinda living in a 2011 time warp right now.

There has been no talk of taking down the Christmas tree or decorations yet. I think Eric and I are in a holiday decoration stand off, waiting to see who will cave first. Plus, it’s so cozy with the tree all lit up at night and the creepy Nutcrackers peering at me from the mantel! Aw, creepy Nutcrackers.

With our long winters, I’m in no rush to pack up the holiday joy just yet. It can wait, much like I am for spring.

Can we also pretend that I accomplished all of 2011’s goals while we’re at it? Or even more than half of them?

Here’s a little recap of my 2011 goals and how I did.

1. Take care of my health and continue my journey with a vegan diet

I felt like I really hit my stride when it came to veganism this year. I made all kinds of new vegan recipes and tried many new foods and vegan restaurants. I got in the v-zone! On the flip side, I also learned to be more patient when I was somewhere that wasn’t veg-friendly and thankful when I was somewhere that was. I tried to take it all in stride. In terms of my health, I’d say I did well, especially with exercise and nutrition. However, I still need to work on getting my mental health more balanced when it comes to my anxiety. I still struggle with it more than I’d like to admit.

2. Blogging: focus on quality over quantity

I definitely worked hard on my recipe creation, photography, and writing in 2011. There are still a lot of things I want to improve and work on, but that’s the beauty of the beast!

I honestly did not think that I was going to come close to making this goal, but things took a sudden turn for the better in the fall. I signed with a wonderful literary agency and planned on finishing my proposal in February 2012 (the proposals are often over 50 pages, so I gave myself a few months). However, I was contacted by a publishing house in November asking me to send them my cookbook proposal. Needless to say, this lit a fire under my butt and I was working on it like crazy until 2 or 3 in the morning every night. Two weeks later, my agent sent it to our list of favourite publishers and since December, I’ve been having conference calls with them discussing our ideas for the book (scary!). Because this process can take a while (especially over the holidays), I’ve already started working on my cookbook to get a jump start, creating new recipes, writing, and trying to get a handle on this crazy process. Hopefully, I will have good news to report to you soon! If not, I’m still going to keep working on the book and chasing my dream.

4. Save 10% of monthly gross income into high interest savings account.

I saved a bit, but definitely not 10%. One of my goals in 2012 will relate to how I’m going to improve this area. I need a budget overhaul and I think mint.com is going to be involved.

5. Run a 5k race

As it turned out, I didn’t race at all in 2011, which was a big contrast to 2010. I never would’ve guessed that I wouldn’t make this goal, but I ended up focusing on strength training, spinning, yoga, and running for pleasure. It was a nice change! I guess I just wasn’t in the race mode in 2011. I did run a few speedy 5ks on my own for free though. :)

6. Raise money for charity

This was a big success in 2011, thanks to YOU! We raised a whopping $7,200 for the Japan Disaster Relief Fundraiser, in addition to various other bake sale charities over the year. Thank you for your generosity!

7. Do Body Pump class a minimum of one time per week

I don’t think it averaged out to once a week all year long, but I was happy with getting back into my strength training this year. I’m not renewing my gym membership in 2012 (as an effort to save moula), but I will tell you what I’m going to do for home workouts instead.

8. Take a photography course

Sadly, this didn’t happen, but it’s still on my list of things I want to do (Eric too!).

9. Ireland or bust

Well, I guess it was a bust! We didn’t end up going to Ireland, but we were blessed with a visit from our Irish relatives instead! We’ll make it there some day.

10. Meditate 3 minutes per day

I’m seriously dying laughing right now thinking about how big of a fail this goal was. I tried…I really did. I remember sitting on my office floor on January 1st, turning off the light, and setting the timer for 3 minutes. What felt like 5 hours later, I got up, feeling a bit more stressed than before I started. I even tried a meditation CD at one point, but I couldn’t stop laughing at the guy’s creepy voice long enough to meditate.

I’ve come to learn that I relax by doing things. My best meditation probably happens when I’m at a yoga class (even if I do force myself to wait until a few people leave the room before I leave Shavasana…)

On that note, I haven’t been to yoga in a downward dog’s age, so I best fix that.

11. Wild Card

The wild card was started in 2011, but ultimately was not finished yet. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to tell you about it in 2012!

And I’m going to say something, and it may sound mean, but it’s just a thought in my head: why is it that every food blogger nowadays wants to/tries to write a cookbook? To me I see food blogging now as a desperate attempt for people to “make it big” with a cookbook and it’s slightly irksome…

People who have original ideas and create their own recipes have EVERY right to try to publish a cookbook! I think it’s great because it makes the fantastic inner workings of the minds of the brilliant available to the rest of the world!

I, for one, am over the moon that I found this blog. Angela is pure genius!
And for those who don’t really search the internet for recipes or food blogs, a cookbook would be a great way for them to find her recipes and ideas!

Hi Sara, For me, it’s about being passionate about what I do and wanting to share this with others. If I didn’t love what I do, there’s no way I would pour all of my energy and time into a book. Thankfully, no one forces us to read books or blogs that we don’t want to, so I wouldn’t be bothered by it too much.

Agreed with bitt of raw! I work for a publishing house and know that especially in nonfiction it is extremely important that a potential author have an existing platform. By tapping into the blog-land, you are getting an author that is usually a prolific writer (and so you know they’ll deliver the goods!), has a loyal fan base that love what they do (i.e. a certain amount of guaranteed sales haha), and are usually extremely diligent and self-motivated. These are just a few of the ingredients to a successful book :)

In my humble opinion, Angela’s blog is a fantastic resource that is both creative and entertaining! So cool that your recipes and heartfelt body image conversations will be able to gain more exposure on the shelves of bookstores :) Best of luck and can’t wait to see it!! Do you have any idea of pub month?

Oh man, “crazy process” doesn’t even begin to describe cookbook-writing! There was so much more to it than I ever realized before I wrote mine. Best of luck with it! Sounds like you’re off to a great start. :)

What a great recap and major, major congrats on the book front. I knew you had tricks up your sleeve. I knew you were hard at work behind the scenes, cooking, writing, taking pictures, repeating. It’s not easy to pull off in ‘all your spare time’ and congrats on it all! How exciting!

You may not have gone to Ireland but you went to CA and NY and other places.

And photography classes…well, after attending many, some are awesome, some aren’t quite as awesome. Sometimes self-study and practicing on your own can be just as good.

I’ve been using it for a year or so now and I LOVE it. You have to get your husband on board, though–make sure everything is in both names so you can register ALL of your accounts and ALL of your credit cards to actually keep track.

I too have dealt with extreme anxiety! I have overcome it though (I still have it occasionally, but I have learned to embrace it as part of me and it makes it SO much easier to deal with… also, it happens SO rarely now compared to how it used to.) I don’t know you well because I started reading your blog only about a month ago, but I am anti-medicine so I went the cognitive therapy, self healing route. It was so awesome. If you don’t already have it, pick up “The Anxiety and Phobia workbook” There are tons of awesome exercises in there that help so much. Good luck, its a tough road, but it can be overcome! <3

I give you a definite free pass on the 7 days late thing – especially considering how well you did with your 2011 goals!! Congrats on a wonderful year and here’s to a happy, healthy and successful year ahead!

If your wild card is what I think it is I hope it happens for you in 2012! 2011 was a great year for you guys, regardless of what goals were met or not. I think sometimes throughout the year we make new goals for ourselves and leave others behind and that’s totally okay in my books!

Congratulations on your success with starting to get a cookbook deal rolling! You did awesome on your goals even if not all of them were accomplished. I remember reading them here last year and wondering how you were doing on the meditation one, hahah. Best of luck in 2012!

I read what you wrote about your anxity problems and as a psychologist working with a form of CBT called ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, I would just like to recommend that for you as it has helped me and a lot of people with problems regarding anxiety. It has a total different taking than traditional CBT and for me it was mindblowing.

A good first book about ACT is called “Get out of your mind and in to your life”, and it has a lot of excercises that you do on your own.

Congratulations on great work on accomplishing your 2011. I think you did impressive work on reaching them and think it is completely normal and even healthy to allow some to develop and flourish while noticing that some other areas are not as important to you (like racing).

I have discovered your blog only recently and am continually refreshed and inspired by it.
Thank you for creating such a high quality blog with such great content and beautiful visuals.
You really remind me just how colorful, beautiful, varied and interesting healthy food can be!
Good luck with all your goals in 2012 and thank you!

Wow, I think you really made your goals! I hope you’ve been celebrating how well you did by drinking champagne (or green monsters) and saluting yourself :-) One of my goals for 2012: Drink more champagne and celebrate myself more, which I think should be everyone’s goal in this world.

I so recognize that meditation issue. I KNOW that it would be better for me if I meditated, as it would probably make me a more calm and focused person – which is key when you have stress tendencies like I have – but somehow I keep forgetting that. I really try to get into a routine but it is hard. Other things somehow keep winning when battling for my time. Oh well, hopefully 2012 will be better on that account…

Great job with your resolutions Angela! If only I could have been half as successful! lol. Usually I make big sweeping statements and then lose motivation by February so this year I am taking things a little different: Making a “mini-resolution” each week, a minor lifestyle change. This week: floss! Adding something small but new each week will hopefully keep my motivation high plus over a year they should all add up to a healthier lifestyle. :)

On the money and budget side: try reading Gail Vax-Oxlade. She has a great blog or you can pick up one of her books at the library (She also has two shows on Slice, “Till Debt Do Us Part” and “Princess”. Both are great!). www.gailvazoxlade.com. She gives down-to-earth advice and also has some posts specifically tackling money issues for the self-imployed, which could help you out!

agree with georgia, gail vaz-oxlade is great. but i also recommend mint.com like you mentioned. I started using it last year and it is a great and easy way to track your spending. nerve-wracking at first to enter all your financial info in there but i’m confident that it’s legit :)

well it links to all of your accounts (bank, credit cards, loans), so you login and all of your transactions are there, you don’t have to enter them! i found the site by a recommendation from the Smart Cookies. They assured their readers/viewers that they’ve checked out the security and it’s safe. I’ve been using the site for almost a year now and there’s been no funny business. When I first joined I would login to all of my accounts about 20 times a day to make sure everything was ok, lol, and it was!

I am so happy for you! I can’t wait to get your cookbook. I’m not vegan, but I love all your recipes and there easy enough to adapt to what I have in my cupboards!

You have great goals! I said it once before I discovered you on a magazine web site and I got hooked! I didn’t even know what a blog was until you! Now I have my own and I love it! Your an inspiration! I can’t wait to see how things go for you in 2012!

I’m so happy you’re well on your way to your publishing goal, Angela! You have such a distinctive voice and creative touch with recipes; your success in this area is so well deserved! All the best in 2012!

I honestly think you’re an amazing woman, Angela. You’ve came such a long way and you’re clear of what you want and you simply show the world how simple it is to live a healthy and happy lifestyle by following your heart. I like how you don’t stress out on workouts, diets etc- I mean, there are A LOT more interesting and alluring things to do other than running a marathon (of course, if it’s your passion then go ahead, if it’s just for the sake of burning calories or keeping up with the trend, then it’s pointless). Instead, you simply do what you love. Good job on sending positive messages to your readers :)

May I recommend the best website for at- home- workouts?! www.gaiamtv.com!!!
I was going to a bootcamp, paying about $12 per class. It was sure hard, as I normally wouldn’t push myself that hard at home. However, also trying to save money, I kicked it to the curb and at the same time, found this gaiamtv ad on facebook. For only $10 a month you get access to a million different workout, yoga, documentary videos. I have been doing “The Firm” workout and they seriously kick my ass as much as the bootcamp I was attending. Such an amazing deal!!! I know this sounds like spam mail, lol, but it isn’t! I think you get a 10 or 15 day trial- so check it out!!

Oh- another awesome site is www.yogaglo.com. I am a yoga instructor, so I can be very picky when it comes to yoga classes, but I have to say that I am such a follower of this site- so many great teachers. The meditations are great- completely guided and the guy’s voice isn’t creepy ;). The great thing is- you can pick the time, intensity, teacher, style, etc, so that you get exactly what you want. I definitely love the yoga on this site much better than the gaiam site. You should try any class with Felicia Tomasko. She does classes aimed at “cooling” or “balancing” the vata dosha – which in English is that anxiety, nervousness, stress that we feel. It would definitely help you! But, lol, don’t think that one class is going to cure-all, it takes patience and time!

Sorry these posts are so long, but I really had to share and I love these 2 sites! And for less than $30/m!!

seconding robyn – yogaglo is the best best best. you can get a free trial for a bit, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can personalize each of your classes – some days i only have 20 minutes and i want a beginner level vinyasa class…bam, there it is! the possibilities are seemingly endless!

What a year! I am so happy that you accomplished so many of your goals this past year but also thankful that you have candidly shared each blessing, trial, failure, and success with us over the past year. Here’s to a great 2012 for you Angela! Can’t wait to see what’s ahead :)

I need to finalize my (and my husband’s) goals for 2012. We wrote them on napkins December 31st, so they still don’t feel official…I think I know what I need to do today (I think one of the napkin’s is giving me the evil eye right now!)

Great goals though, whether you accomplished them or not. And I personally don’t think that is the point of the goals, really. I think it is to bring awareness to those areas and to help you move forward toward them, which is what you did. You learned and tried, and some moved more quickly than others. Having those points of focus is awesome though. One that struck me was that you wanted to focus on quality over quantity, and I definitely noticed that, in a very good way. I found myself more and more interested and looking forward to your blog every morning. The quality has improved, both in visuals, and set up, but also in content and presentation of ideas. Keep it up, and I’m so excited to snag your cookbook when it is all done!!

Hi, Angela. I just wanted to let you know how inspired I feel after reading your posts. Some examples: I lived vicariously through you during your trip to NY and CA (places on my bucket list). I just downloaded the Mint app for my IPad. Your Daily Workout Log and Thought Record Sheet help keep me self-aware of my own workout goals and anxieties.

What first brought me to your blog was your great recipes and photographs, but what brings me back daily (or as often as you post) is your day-to-day posts that inspire me to be MY best.

For the record, we only JUST took our Christmas tree down yesterday! I don’t like doing it either but luckily I’ve got 2 roommates who can’t stand to see Christmas decorations in January! Regarding the meditation goal, I’m the EXACT same way! Totally didn’t happen for me. I feel like “do x every day” goals are some of the most difficult to commit to. All in all, I’d say you had a pretty spectacular 2011 Ange, especially with the cookbook proposal! Here’s to an even better 2012! :)

I think meditation can be done in many ways. Some people meditate by being present while doing the dishes, chopping vegetables, running and focusing on the sound of their feet on the pavement and rhythm of breath. So maybe you did meditate 3 minutes a day–through being fully present in the kitchen or on runs? :)

Oh, and congrats on the cookbook! I can’t wait until it comes out. One of my 2011 resolutions was to go vegan–which I finally committed to in July. This blog has been a huge help!

Wonderful recap and it’s no biggie if some `11 stuff has to creep over into `12! ;-)

And THANK YOU for not being the only person with their tree still up! I don’t think ours is going to come down until next weekend but only because you can’t wade through our basement right now. When you declutter is does get worse before it gets better, right?

Angela,
Congratulations on a great year! I love your blog and recipes! I use to feel that way about meditation myself (and still have trouble committing to it daily), but I found some guided meditations at Fragrant Heart- http://www.fragrantheart.com/ that have really helped. I like her voice (soothing…not too creepy!) It’s a goal of mine this year to do it more often, so it’s part of my 21 Day Lifestyle change plan starting today!
Can’t wait for the cookbook to come out. I would love to do that one day myself!
(P.S.- My tree and decorations are still up as well!)
All the Best,
Andrea

I really enjoyed reading your 2011 recap & I laughed out loud reading your comments about meditation. I’ve personally never been able (thus far) to master the art of meditation. I too find things that are “supposed” to be relaxing end up being a bit stressful to me :) May good health and success fill 2012!

So many great goals in 2011! And you did good with them too :)
I’m definitely buying your book when it comes out! I’m excited already! :D
I wanted to take a photography class this past year too, but it didn’t happen either :( Luckily for you, your pictures are already amazing!

I think being a women and having anxiety come hand in hand. Especially if you don’t drown yourself with antidepressents, smokes and alcohol! Wait till you have kids….your anxiety will be 100x’s worse soooo I highly recommend finding a way to manage it now. My husband is constantly telling me to lower the bar….but I think people like you and myself will never settle for the way things are when we know it can be so much better. Why run 2 miles when we can run 5. Why eat vegetarian when we can eat vegan. Why write recipes for blog when you can write a cookbook! There is nothing wrong for wanting more…unless you drive yourself crazy trying to get there. (which I do). Oh…as far as finances. When we went vegan I also did a money make over with dave ramsey’s thinking. It really works. Its tough because you cut out almost all extra spending but it pays off so fast. In 8 months I have been able to pay off 27,000 in credit card/student loan debt. First you get 1000 in savings. Then you pick the lowest credit card amount and pay that off first, then the next lowest. Not lowest interest but the actual balance amount. You pay minimum payment on all other payments except for the one you are paying off. We used every extra spare penny and sold a lot of stuff. I cut out all beauty buys like getting hair and nails done. No clothes or shoe shopping. No kitchen appliance buying. Only what we “needed”. I still bought quality organic food but all the rest was cut out. The freedom you feel from being debt free is liberating. Next will be paying off vehicles! I think 2012 will be better for everyone. It seems 2011 was the wake up call and 2012 will be the embrace year! Good luck Angela and don’t stop blogging or taking pics! You benefit sooo many people by your gifts!

Angela, have you looked into RRSPs? I didn’t know anything about them except that I should get them, so I took out one of those “Dummies” books at the library… I think it was RRSPs & RRIFs for Dummies and it has been a really good resource. I also love books by Gail Vaz-Oxlade for finance stuff like getting out of debt and saving. She is the host of that show, Til Debt Do Us Part. It might be worth it to look into your money goals by checking out these two resources!
If you do your banking with RBC then there is a budget thing in the online banking that you can look at. Every time you use your cards it automatically keeps track and categorizes your spending. You can set budget goals, too.

That’s why I like calling them goals, not resolutions. The word goals to me means works in progress – my list is similar to yours – some are done, some are in the works and some just got bumped over to my 2012 list…and there were even a couple that don’t matter to me anymore and have been nixed completely!

PS – my holiday decorations are still up to! Neither of us are motivated to drag out the boxes and I love the tree lights on at night. I’m thinking we’ll have to force ourselves to do it this week, but that is what I said last week too LOL!!!

I want to let you know how much I love your blog. I’ve been a vegetarian for sixteen years, but became vegan just a few months ago – thanks to your blog (and mama peas), as well as a talk I attended by Wayne Pacelle. I have gotten a sense of community through your blog – as well as some great recipes. And restaurant reviews! I live in Encinitas, right where you vacationed. I would have been so surprised to see you at Whole Foods! I am also inspired by your cookbook journey. I have been working on a middle-grade series and have had so many bumps in the road….but I think this will be my year! Yours too! Can’t wait to buy your book. Thanks for everything you do for people AND animals.

If you ever come to Ireland be sure to let me know (be warned you will be stuck for vegan friendly food but I know three of the best places to visit!) I live in Wicklow, “the garden of Ireland”…it’s beautiful though I’ll admit I neglect to appreciate it as much as I should.
One of my goals for this year is to focus more on my health, veganism, and I’m hoping to run the women’s mini marathon (a 10k race) having never run anything like it before! :)

Great recap! I think mental health challenges will always be there, but learning to cope helps huge. I find exercising keeps mine relatively under control. I also hear you on the savings front! Just bought a couple books the globe and mail recommended a few weeks ago to try to help.

Hi! I really enjoyed this post, although my comment is unrelated: made both the roasted tomato, onion and garlic soup AND the vegan (non GF) brownies the other day and Oh. My. Goodness. Amazing! These recipes are both going in my repertoire! Thanks again for such great recipes. And I can’t wait for your book to come out!!

You had a lot of goals, and I appreciate your careful reflection on them. I am so curious about the wild card now…I guess I’ll have to wait.

I struggle with anxiety too and I am trying to get a handle on it. I don’t think it’s as well understood as depression even.

One thing I am curious about is your gut because you posted about it. I know going GF didn’t help it (but did help us with some awesome recipes!) but did you get any other answers? I know blogging about health issues tends to bring upon millions of suggestions that may be overwhelming. Hope you feel better.

Congrats on all of your success this year! I love reading your blog & trying the recipes. :) Can’t wait for the cookbook!

Also, if you’re looking for at-home strength training, Jenn Jordan has an AWESOME video workout series. You can check out her blog for a taste test of the videos, but you do have to sign up before you can access them all. (I actually found your blog through hers ages ago.) The workouts are killer, but totally worth it!

So excited for a cookbook from you! I actually really like when bloggers are able to reach their dreams of books or cookbooks. I would like to write a book someday. Don’t know if I actually will or not, but it’s fun to dream.

What great news about the cookbook. I also think your idea of quality over quantity for the blog is great. Of course, I like a daily dose of ohsheglows. . . but I also value your excellent posts.

On the money front — just curious — isn’t it easier to save monthly when you also have a goal (e.g., build up 6 months of living expenses)? My husband and I find that saving toward a goal is the best way for us to really make progress.

What a wonderful post! I love that you took the time to review your goals and think about what you accomplished without worrying about the goals you didn’t exactly meet. This is what I think New Year’s Resolutions (or whatever you want to call them) should be about.

I’ve already said this, but since it sounds like you are mentally just entering 2012, I hope you have a wonderful 2012! I can’t wait to read about your year, and I am really excited about your cookbook, whenever that is ready. :-) I must admit, I have a totally new appreciation of recipe creation now that I have started my own blog. It’s a whole lot harder than it looks!

Angela, I am very impressed with all you’ve accomplished over the past few years! To be honest yours is the only food blog that I actually read and that I don’t just say “oh that looks good” but follow many of your recipes. I run a women’s fitness business and am passionate for food and recipe design myself so rock on gf!

Way to leave us with a cliff-hanger on that last one!
Awesome goals and achievements this year- very impressive! I didn’t run a single race in 2011 either, which is very unlike me. When it came down to it, I just didn’t feel like “paying to run.”
We finally took down our tree yesterday- it was very sad. it seems to empty in the house now.
We still have our Christmas lights up…

I love the honesty of this post! I’ve kinda been beating myself up for not completing all of my 2011 goals so its really nice to see I’m not the only one. I’m super excited for the cookbook too, I hope it comes together smoothly for you! Looking forwar to many yummy recipes in the meantime.

Why is it wrong to try and make a living at something you love to do? Angela obviously pours a lot of time, energy and heart into her recipes. Last time I checked no one is calling out Paula Deen for making a buck- why cant others do the same thing. I would totally buy her cookbook if she had one

You had a lot of goals, and I appreciate your careful reflection on them. I am so curious about the wild card now…I guess I’ll have to wait.

I struggle with anxiety too and I am trying to get a handle on it. I don’t think it’s as well understood as depression even.

One thing I am curious about is your gut because you posted about it. I know going GF didn’t help it (but did help us with some awesome recipes!) but did you get any other answers? I know blogging about health issues tends to bring upon millions of suggestions that may be overwhelming. Hope you feel better.

Since your photography skills are already very good, instead of a class, consider a private lesson with a professional photographer. My sweetie is into photograhpy and I got him a private lesson as a birthday gift, it allowed one on one attention and focused on rounding out his skills.

I’m with you on the meditation. It’s hard for me as well. I did find a great app for it though (both IPhone and Android). I’ve actually used as few of them, and they work great! Most take 30 min or so, plus he has a Scottish accent which is awesome to listen to. Check out his stuff at http://www.withandrewjohnson.com/.

Great job! I don’t know anyone who’s ever gotten 100% thru all their new years resolutions (unless they were etsy bitsy tiny ones)…. that’s the beauty of going thry our dreams, regrouping, focusing on what’s to come & going at it again!
Love #3 by the way, I’m so excited to see your cookbook in the store ~ it’s now on my list of must haves!!!
T

Hi Angela, well done on such a successful year. Such a great recap to read. Isn’t it funny how no matter how well you do often that anxiety can bubble away deep down below, in fact often it is the super successful perfectionists that live with it. I meditate daily to give myself a break from over worrying or thinking, and find the best way rather than try to still myself and then beat myself up because I can’t focus my thoughts or breath is to just notice and listen to all the noises going on around me – it works!
I look forward to continuing to follow you this year.

Happy New Year, Angela! I enjoyed reading your 2011 resolutions and also the comments which have provided me with some interesting research as well.

Budgeting and meditation have been two resolutions that I’ve dealt with in the past year. With budgeting I’ve found mint.com to be very helpful. Having bought a house a year ago, my finances have been tight. I found that auto-drafting into savings accounts has been very effective. Even if you can only spare $50/month (or less), having that money regularly moved to a different account is still effective. I’ve been doing that for a vacation fund and am almost saved up enough for my September Greece vacation!

For meditation, I found the Fragrant Heart website to be very helpful. http://www.fragrantheart.com/ There is a getting started meditation series that helps you get up to 10 minutes … I find her voice very relaxing, and she also has many guided meditations for a variety of issues.

Great job on your goals! I achieved my weightloss goal last year and am so proud and pumped up to achieve more this year :)

P.S. I went to a vegan potluck that is held monthly in our town for the first time on Saturday, and I made your Vegan Pumpkin Mac n Cheese. It got RAVE reviews :D Thanks for the recipe Im not sure WHAT I would have made without your blog!! :)

What a great list of goals you had! And good for you for accomplishing any. Don’t be too hard on yourself for the ones you “missed” or “need to work on for 2012.” Like you, I need to learn to take care of my anxiety! I get horrible headaches b/c I get so stressed and overwhelmed. This is definately on the top of my goal list for 2012 and I truly think that my new vegan lifestyle has helped! (2 months and going strong!)
I look forward to 2012!!!
Don’t worry about the tree…we just took ours down yesterday and this morning I was a bit depressed as I sat and ate my Sweet potato breakfast casserole (delicious p.s!) and stared and the empty living room.

I cannot wait for your cookbook!
Mint.com is pretty useful, we’ve been using it for a while now, hope you like it :)

I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one that relaxes by doing things. It drives my husband crazy! If I am literally not doing anything for a good amount of time, it drives me crazy. I am at my happiest when I am busy :D

I would also like to share the story of my dear friend Amy who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma July 2011. My vegan journey was inspired by her. She is one of the healthiest, most active people that I know and after her diagnosis (at age 28), I realized that no amount of exercise can make a person healthy, it’s what we put into our bodies that makes us our best.
Cheers to you Amy. May you have a healthy and fast recovery in 2012.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amydunn/mystory

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents worth in about dealing with stress and anxiety. I was always a shy introvert, but life led me to a career in teaching. At first, I credited my training in education with pulling me out of my shell, but as anyone who has taught in the public system lately knows, one must have a very thick skin to enjoy it. To be clear: I do not have thick skin, and over the years, my stress and anxiety levels rose to monstrous levels. It got so bad that when life happened, and I lost both of my parents in a short span of time, I overloaded and had to quit just to keep hold of my sanity. For the last 2 years, my husband and I have relocated for his career, and I found myself holed up in our rental house, exhibiting signs of agoraphobia! That really scared me. Everyone started saying I should get myself to a doctor and get on some anti-depressants, but I am really anti-pharmaceutical drugs. Out of desperation, I googled alternative health options for dealing with anxiety and depression, and by some miracle, I stumbled upon a Toronto-based hypnotist’s website. I am stressing the Toronto connection because I am from Toronto myself, and it’s always nice to promote local talent. His Stress Relief self-hypnosis CD, which I immediately ordered, in a very big way pulled me out of the depths of despair and helped me sleep soundly again, which helped me to feel more balanced, which in turn helped me to start exercising again…which also in turn helped me to feel positive once again and like I can face the world once more. Truly, it was a God-send. So, please, I highly recommend you check out www.mikemandelhypnosis.com
PS: I, too, could never get the hang of meditation, but this…this is better, in my opinion. Even my husband swears by it now, as it never fails to help him sleep more soundly, too.

Congrats on the goals you completed in 2011 & congrats on the goals you attempted…what a sad life it would be if we never set goals for ourselves. Meditating was a goal for me one year, and like yourself I quickly found out that it’s just not for me. I too feel more relaxed by DOING things.

2010 was my year off from entering any races and it was a great year because I had time to do a variety of activities & that’s the year I was really introduced to yoga. I cancelled my gym membership this year and bought a yogaglo.com membership…it’s incredible! I can’t tell you the last time I went to the gym to workout so why pay for it if I’m not using it? I love to workout outside & at home.

This year I have not set any major goals, what I have decided to do instead is set a daily intention(s) & so far I am loving it. It has a much more positive affect on me mentally.

I hope 2012 is a fabulous year for you & I can’t wait to proudly display your cookbook(s) on my kitchen counter someday (soon!).